No more Stringer Bell jokes

But charismatic Hirai has done good things with Sony's PlayStation line and Sony has had him pegged as the horse to back for some time now.

"As challenging as times are for Sony now, were it not for the strong leadership of Sir Howard Stringer these past seven years, we would have been in a much more difficult position," said Hirai, going on to outline Sony's focus on digital imaging, smartphones, gaming and television.

As for Sir Howard, he went a bit Shredder on us: "It was my honour to recommend [Hirai] to the Board for the positions of President and CEO, because he is ready to lead, and the time to make this change is now."